


They were hunted

by Adhuber



Series: Laura [16]
Category: Chicago PD (TV), Homicide: Life on the Street, Justified, Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, based on the movie Jackal, based on the movie the Mechanic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24984175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adhuber/pseuds/Adhuber
Summary: Hank Voight loves his city.  He loves his wife and kids.  Things are quickly changing as he realizes that the city he loves may come second to the woman he loves.  Helping her manage through this pregnancy while still working full time is hard enough.  Add to that a strange series of murders and no clues as to who or what has happened.  Hank and his team are going to have to work to figure out what has happened to cause all these murders.
Relationships: Hank Voight/Original Female Character(s), Jay Halstead/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Laura [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538185
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Hank was having one of those great dreams he seemed to have more and more. His wife and he were on the beach making love. They were in an isolated cove the water came up and around their bodies. it was just like the scene in From Here to Eternity with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr only he was Burt and Laura was Deborah. He’d had this dream many times and Laura always looked incredible in her bathing suit. In his dream he was alway younger and in his prime, maybe because he took on Lancaster’s characteristics. 

“Laura, this is the life,” he would tell her. She would toss her head back and laugh. “What about the children?” she would counter. He always pulled her to him and kissed her again. “We should go swimming, enjoy this time alone,” as she pulled away and ran to the water. He never argued just followed behind her and jumped in. The lagoon/cove was beautiful and blue, just like Laura’s eyes. They would tread water, she would wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and kiss him. He started swimming and pushing their bodies back to the beach, “Laura I love you,” as he leaned her back into the sand. He was just about to when something touched his ear. He turned and there was Max. Why was the dog in his dream?

Opening an eye he saw the two dogs staring at him. It was dark in the house and Laura was not in bed. Pushing himself up he called out, “Laura?” No answer and he was dropping his feet to the floor and grabbing his robe. Outside of their bedroom he saw the light of the TV. “Laura?”

“I’m in the living room,” she called.

Her voice sounded off, she sounded in pain. Moving quickly he was by her side. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Laura adjusted herself, “I can’t sleep, I feel horrible, I’ve been throwing up, and I keep asking what are we doing?”

Touching her forehead for fever and finding none, he pulls her up and leads her back to the bedroom. “Honey, if you aren’t feeling good you gotta let me know.”

“Why? You have to work, I just have to lay here.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Are we out of our minds? I’m going to be 60 by the time our babies graduate from high school. When are we going to be just the two of us? I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m too old to be changing diapers. I know people who are grandparents, you are grandparent, and we are having babies. What kind of mother does this?”

“Laura, we are going to be okay. Yeah we aren’t being conventional couples, but honey we found each other now. You are a wonderful mom, and you are giving me the opportunity to have a second chance of raising children,” as his hand slides over her belly. “Honey you aren’t alone here. I’m not going anywhere, I’m going to be with you every step and every night. I’ll be changing diapers with you.”

Laura leaned against him, “I just scared. I was scared with Grant was born, I was scared when Flynn was born I was scared when Steve and Rick were born. I just”

“Laura I am here with you. You aren’t by yourself. These babies were made out of love, you are my love. We’ll get through this.”

~~  
Hank walked into the station the next morning, Laura’s fears were understandable. It was insane what they were doing but he wouldn’t change it. He was about to head upstairs when Adam and Kim came running down the stairs.

“Boss we got a case,” they both told him and ran for the door. Turning Hank followed them. What now he had to think as he got in his vehicle. 

The crime scene was typical. Dead body, cops all around. 

“What’s going on?” as he walked under the police tape. 

Kevin looked at his sargent, “Sarge, looks like we got multiple casualties. Total of five bodies all shot in the head but only this guy got shot in the back and bled out,” as he lifts up the sheet.

“Who is he?”

“ID has him as Deputy US Marshal Chris Smith.”

“Okay, what was he doing here?”

“The women are hookers, he looks like the john.”

Hank wiped at his face, “Okay let’s get in touch with the Marshal find out if this is just some random killing.”

~~  
The Coyote had to watch from a distance. What else could it do? It had already cleaned up any evidence that could trace back. It cocked its head nobody ever noticed the nocturnal animal. 

~~  
“Hey boss,” Jay knocked on Hank’s door.

“Yeah,” as he looked up from his papers. “I just got off the phone with the Marshals. They want this case shut down.”

“What? One of their own was murdered.”

“Yeah well the Marshal says he’s calling in the Feds to take the case.”

Hank shook his head, how many times did the feds have to be reminded that this was his city, his case they all needed to back down. “Who do I need to call?”

~~  
Before Hank had a chance to make any calls, his team was called by the Commander. 

“Hank, we got a problem.”

“Okay,” as he looked at the other man.

“We just got a call from the US Attorney’s office, they went to serve a warrant on Marshal Artino and he’s dead.”

“What?”

“I need your team over there and find out what happened.”


	2. Chapter 2

Walking around in the large house Hank did not see any sign of a break in. In the office he was surprised to see the Marshal dead behind his office desk. “What do we have?” he asked.

Jay came up to him, “Hank, this guy committed suicide.”

“Then why are we called in?”

Jay pulled Hank to the side, “The Marshal was going to be served with a warrant.”

“What kind of warrant?”

“I’m not sure, they won’t say, look a Ranger friend of mine is coming up here to assist. I think he might be able to share more information.”

“Good, I want to know what the hell is going on here.”

~~  
Hank looked through the papers when his phone rang. Picking it up, “Voight.”

“Hank, it’s Gilda, Laura is in the hospital.”

“Okay,” as he stands and grabs his coat.

“She started bleeding.”

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” as he clicked off the phone. “Jay, Laura is in the hospital, take over on this case, keep me posted.”

~~  
Jay was setting up the board when Platt came walking up with another man. 

“Jay, a Deputy Gutterson is here.”

Turning Jay smiled, “Hey man,” as he goes to the man for a hug. “How long has it been?”

“Too long, we shouldn’t let work be the only reason we get together,” as he walks forward.

“Kevin, Adam, Kim, Hailey, Vanessa, this is Deputy US Marshal Tim Gutterson from Kentucky.”

The other detectives all nod at the new individual. 

“Our Sargent is away right now, so go ahead and fill us in.”

Tim sat his stuff down and moved to the board. “I have convinced the Marshals that it would be better to work with locals then against them. The body you found this morning is a deputy here in Chicago who was being questioned in regards to a case the US Attorney was working. The case also involved the Marshal which is why a warrant was served.”

“What kind of case?” Hailey asked.

“The Chicago office has had a lot of problems over the years. This was about embezzlement with a charity created for deputies lost in the line of duty.”

~~  
Hank arrived at the hospital to find Gilda pacing. “What’s her status?”

Gilda wiped a tear away, “Hank they’re trying to save the babies, but honestly I don’t know.”

Hank pushed past her and was trying to get to Laura when Will came out. “Hank, we have to take Laura to surgery. She’s having these babies now.”

“What? It’s too early.”

“Goodwin will be down shortly to help explain. We are going to do everything we can.”

“Just make sure Laura is okay.” Hank watched as he saw Laura was pulled out on the gurney and rushed to the elevators. He swallowed not knowing what he was going to do. “I can’t lose her,” he told Gilda. 

~~  
Hank sat in the waiting room, he had called Jay who had gone and picked up Rebecca and the kids. A call to Erin went to voice mail. He wasn’t sure who else to call. 

After a few hours Will walked in, “Laura is going to be fine.”

“And the babies?” Gilda asked before Hank could say anything.

“A boy and a girl, a third girl didn’t survive.”

Hank wiped the back of his hand over his eyes. He wasn’t sure what to do. “Can I see her?”

“Yeah, I’ll take you up to her. The babies will be in the NICU”

~~  
The Jackal received another name. It really amazed the killed how easy it was to do its work. Sometime they felt as if they were invisible to everyone else. Once they performed their duties, the Coyote would arrive to do any clean up. Leave the proper evidence for the police to find.

~~  
“Sarge, we got another victim,” Jay said as he read his phone.

Hank had just walked back into the waiting room where the boys sat with their aunts and future Uncle. “Another shooting?”

“No, a drug overdose. The Chief Deputy’s daughter.”

“Okay and this is related how?”

“Tim says that the girl had been in rehab and just gotten home.”

“Relapse?”

“Maybe, just the timing seems odd.”

“Call Hailey have her get over there.”


	3. Chapter 3

Hank sat in the chair next to Laura’s bed holding her hand. “Baby, you scared me to death,” as he looked at his beautiful wife.

“I’m sorry Hank.”

“Why are you sorry? We have a little boy and girl.”

“But we were supposed to have 3,” as a tear dropped from her eye.

“Laura, it’s okay, I’m sad too, but we have two 3 lb 2 oz babies that need us.”

“I know, and I’m so happy, but”

Hank climbed into the bed and hugged Laura, “Nothing in this world matters more than you. I love you, and now we have two little ones that need names.”

Laura sniffed, and pushed herself away, “Henry James and Charlotte Ann,” she answered without much thought.

Hank pulled away, “you want to name our son after me?”

“Yes of course,” as she looks down at her hands. “And the baby we loss will be Laura Elizabeth.”

“They are perfect,” as he kissed her crown.

She smiled and moved a bit and twinged in pain. “I forgot how uncomfortable c-sections are.”

“Do you need me to call the doctor?”

“No, I need you to tell me about your latest case,” she answered with a smirk.

~~  
The wolf walked around the big city taking notes of where things were. Best locations for hiding, sleeping, eating, killing. The prey was in sight but timing was everything. 

~~  
“This can’t be right,” Ruzik said out loud.

“What?” Kim asked.

“The bullet used in the Smith killing was also used in a homicide eight years ago in New York.”

Kim’s eyes got big, “We need to call Sarge.” She turns as Jay walks in. “Jay we got a problem.”

~~  
Hank hated leaving Laura’s side but after talking with Kim he needed to get back to the station. Walking into he 21st he nodded at Platt and walked upstairs. “How is it that the same gun used in a New York homicide was used in our murder? Who is this?”

Gutterson looked at Jay, “Sir, I’ve been over everything, and well it looks like a hired hit.”

“What?” Hank asked shaking his head.

“I interviewed all of the individuals in the office, one woman kept saying that a Nancy Tucker was to blame.”

Hank looked between the two men, “and who is Nancy Tucker.”

Kevin jumped up and put a picture on the board. “Nancy Tucker, or Nan as they all called her was a deputy who got shot 10 years ago in a raid. Another deputy was killed when he insisted on going in first. Nan’s partner pulled her out to safety or she’d be dead too. She took an admin job and was doing all the financials. She discovered multiple discrepancies and the Admin Officer was forced into early retirement. Nancy was up for the job but was passed over for another individual. That was when IA was called stating that Nancy was going to shoot everyone. The allegations didn’t prove to be anything but it was enough for her to resign.”

“When was that?”

“Six years ago. She now lives in a small town in Montana working for the local PD with her husband and kids.”

“So if the allegations didn’t prove anything”

Tim jumps in and continues, “I remember hearing about this. Nan was a CPA, MBA and working on her PHD and the Marshal passed over her because they said she knew too much. Over the years the Chicago office has been known to have issues, there have been rumors that money has gone missing.”

“What about the warrant that the Marshal was being served?” Hank asked.

“Embezzelment. A charity had been created for the fallen deputy, funds began to disappear. The Marshal and the deputies former girlfriend were the only ones who had access. Checks were signed with his signature.”

~~  
Hank wiped at his face, it was late. He had run home, checked on the boys and was coming back to the hospital to see Laura and the babies. As he walked down the hall he saw a doctor walk out of Laura’s room. A pit hit his stomach and he quickened his pace. Opening the door he saw Laura sitting up in bed with a large bouquet of flowers.

“Laura?”

“Oh Hank,” she smiled.

The relief was quick but he had to ask, “who brought you flowers?”

“An old family friend, he’s a doctor here.”

“The one that just left?”

“Yes, Leon Murphy, no relation, we grew up together.”

“Oh,” as he looks at the flowers.

“He was the first boy I kissed,” she tells him in a teasing manner.

Hank raises an eyebrow.

“Nothing happened obviously. We both were in love with the other at the wrong time. I went off to college, he joined the army, became a hero and then a doctor. His wife was murdered when they were in the midst of a divorce. Real nasty thing - anyway we just lost touch. He saw that I was here and wanted to stop by.”

“Huh, and he knows you are married?”

“Of course,” as she playfully touches him. “I told him I am very happily married.”


	4. Chapter 4

The Jackal didn’t ask questions - it wasn’t their place. They had one job and that was to kill. There was an order to how things went. Coyote cleaned up the mess, the Wolf hunted down the prey. Anubis provided the information, the Sphynx paid for everything. There were no questions you did what you were expected. There was no knowledge of one from the other - except for the code names. Each had a special knowledge and they handled their jobs. Jackal was an assassin, they had never been trained professionally - they just had an unusual ability to always hit their mark.

Setting up for their next target, the Jackal adjusted the scope. Looking through they watched the soon to be victim talking to the bookie. Finger on the trigger and a soft squeeze. The sound had barely passed that the gun was being folded and put back in the custom case. Two steps and into the car. The coyote would arrive in a few minutes to clean the mess - they had accidentally met once. A quick nod and they went their separate ways.

~~  
Jay sat at his desk on the phone. Everything just kept getting stranger and stranger. Trying to get NYPD to help in any information was frustrating. How could a single gun be used in not just two homicides but also an additional cold case from 25 and 30 years ago. “Yes, I’m still here,” as he wrote down notes. “Do you have the names of the detectives? Okay, thanks.” Looking across he saw Hailey on the phone with Baltimore PD. She seemed to be having the same issue.

“Okay thanks,” as she hung up. “The Baltimore PD said the case was run by an Al Giardello and a John Munch. Giardello died some 10 years ago. Munch transferred to NYPD.”

Jay knods, “NYPDs case was run by a Lenny Briscoe and Mike Logan. Briscoe retired and is dead, Logan retired last year.”

Hank wiped at his face, they seemed to not be getting anywhere. “And none of these cases ended up with SVU?” Yeah he was reaching but he wanted some sort of lead that would help.  
“Let me make some calls,” God he hoped he could get some help.

~~  
“Hey Olivia, Hank Voight,” he stated into the phone.

“Hank, it seems like we’ve talked more during this pandemic than we have in years.”

“Things have been really busy out here, and I wanted to see if maybe you could help us out.”

“Oh, do you have special victims case?”

“Not necessarily, we have a case where the bullet matches with an unsolved NYPD case. The problem is that all of the detectives in the case are retired or dead.”

“Okay?”

“The detectives from the NYPD are a Lenny Biscoe and Mike Logan,” he reads from a piece of paper. “The same gun was used in Baltimore with detectives, Giardello and Much.”

“Munch?”

“Yeah, do you know him?”

“Actually I know three of them. Briscoe died shortly after retirement, Logan returned to Manhattan before he retired last year and Munch worked in SVU.”

Hank let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “You wouldn’t have contact information.”

“Yeah,” she pauses, “so how is your wife?”

Rubbing his face, “she ended up going into premature labor last week.”

“Oh, and”

“We have a little boy and girl.”

“I thought you said she was having triplets.”

“Yeah, we lost one of the babies.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Hey,” shaking his head to refocus, “I’m going to send a couple of my detectives out there, we need to get a lead on this case.”

“Boss,” Kevin stated walking up to Hank’s office. “We’ve got a woman in interrogation who says she can explain everything.”

Hank looks at Kevin then, “Liv, I gotta let you go. Ruzik and Burgess will there this evening.”


	5. Chapter 5

Walking into the interrogation room Hank and Hailey took seats across from the woman. She looked nervous and if Hank could say guilty this woman was guilty of something. 

“I’m Sargent Voight this is Detective Upton, we understand you can shed some light on our case?”

The woman looked around nervously, “I tried to ask for forgiveness but I think it is too late.”

“Forgiveness for what?” Upton questioned.

“I was told by Marshal Artino and Chief Deputy Rollins that if I wanted to stay working as a contractor in the office that Tucker had to go.”

“Why?” Upton continued.

“Nan was supposed to be the one who was killed 10 years ago. The raid plan was signed off by the Chief Deputy and Supervisory Deputy MacKelvey. Mac hated her, he resented her knowledge and ability to close cases. If Tucker got killed, it would be a double boost having a deputy and a female deputy killed in the line of duty. Joe Quinn was a hotdog who wanted to make a name for himself, little did he know it would be through his death.”

“Is there proof that they wanted her dead?”

“No, just talk. Nan got injured she took a desk job and fell into being the Budget Analyst. She already had the knowledge of all the other desks when she was an 082. She started doing an in house audit. Found multiple issues, funding had gone missing, credit card purchases,”

“So why did everyone decide to go after her?”

“The AO took an early out to avoid being indicted, Nan should have gotten the job, Marshal Artino wasn’t going to give it to her. He ended up giving it to Wanda.”

“You all lied about her to get her out of the office?”

“I just told the investigators what they wanted to hear. Nan was sarcastic and had a dark sense of humor. It was easy to twist her words. They wanted to suspend her and put her on a PIP. She resigned in stead. Nan always told people she believed in Karma - that if you wronged a person it would come back on you. Ever since Nan left, my life has been horrible. My daughter failed out of college, my ex husband killed my mother, and my identity has been stolen. Wanda got pulled over a couple of months ago, they found a trap in her vehicle filled with heroin. The woman who started all this, Leann Nicholson, has had multiple issues with her finances. She was stalking Nan on the internet and when Nan resigned that set her off more. Leann tried to find out more but it was like Nan and her family had vanished.”

“So how is all this related to what is happening now?”

The woman moves in her seat, “Leann called me and said the Nan must have put a contract out on all of us. Everyone who lied to internal affairs is ending up dead or”

“Can she prove it?”

“No, and I tried to contact Nan, I didn’t have her phone number but I did a search for her husband - I had been invited to their wedding - and I left a message but I never got a call back.”

Hank who had been leaning back in his chair shook his head, “so you are telling me you think a woman that US Marshals had black listed has decided after five years to put a hit out on everyone who wronged her?”

“I don’t know, but the Marshal is dead, Smith is dead, Rollins’ daughter is dead. The only people left are me, Wanda, Leann and two other deputies, Cal Carter and MacKelvey. we are all going to end up dead.” 

~~  
Ruzek and Burgess arrived at Laguardia at midnight. They took a cab to their hotel and crashed. The next morning they headed over to the 19th to meet up with Benson and her team.

Rollins was the first to see the two detectives walk in. “Hey, Captain said you were coming, come on in.”

Kim smiles and sets her purse down, “We hope you can help us pull anything you got on this case.”

“Hey,” Carisi answers walking in, “Chicago right?”

Kim smiles and nods. 

Carisi leads them into a conference room, “So after your boss talked to Liv, she called me to see if I could pull the old case files. Found what you might be looking for,” as he hands Adam a box. “John is going to come in later,” as he looks through a file folder.

“Is there anything showing that this could have been done by a hired killer?” Adam asks.

“That thought crossed my mind and I started thinking, maybe, and well last night when I’m talking to the misses, she said we should look in the archives.”

“Oh you’re married,” Kim asks.

“Yeah, for a few months now, though don’t say anything to Rollins. She’s been on my case about it.”

Adam looks to Kim, “Uh why?”

“Long story short, I met my wife at a church retreat, she got pregnant, we got married. Erin lost the baby and Rollins came out and said why stay married to a stranger.” 

“Wow,” as Kim sits down.

“Yeah, well I’m Catholic, Erin is Catholic, marriage is sacred so.”

“Do you love her?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, I do. You know how when you meat that one person who just gets you, well that is Erin. I know that she’s not the typical movie start beauty but when I look at her,” he pauses as if thinking and a smile comes over his face.

Adam looked at Kim and they both smiled at each other.

“Well anyway Erin got me thinking and we ran some other cold case files, went back forty years, found similar MO but not the same gun.”

“Okay?”

“Over the years there are have been killings and when you triangulate where the shot came from there is not evidence, no shell casing, nothing. Like things were cleaned up.”

~~  
The wolf stalked around at night. If you couldn’t see it at night then in the right places you won’t see it in the day. Anubis had provided the name now to find the location. The target required something unique. Moving in the shadows the wolf always found the weakness. People tried to not repeat their movements but there were always little things. The way they sit the silverware, the way they get in the car, hand movements while washing their hands. The wolf loved to watch it was so fun to see the last movements individuals performed. Soon they would gasp for their last breath or cry in fear as they realized death was about to overcome them.


	6. Chapter 6

The wolf was not happy. The setup, the plan, it was all too much. There wasn’t enough time to make sure for any possibilities. Something was sure to go sideways, and the Jackal would end up being a casualty. Looking from its vantage point, the wolf knew it should leave, move away but this instance it had to watch.

~~  
The Jackal knew this wasn’t the usual hit, things had been done precisely so that it all would happen in the large crowd. Michigan Avenue famous for its shopping, never would anyone suspect in the midst of the crowd a lone gunman was pulling the trigger. 

~~  
Being early was part of the Coyote’s job. Not to watch the trigger man but to see where things fell. This was not the normal case, today was odd - sniffing the air, something was wrong. If he called out would anyone know? Sniffing again, no this was not part of the plan.

~~  
Gilda always had on a smile. She sashayed through the store with a smile on her face. Yes she had things she should be doing but a quick stop at Bloomys wouldn’t hurt anything. She had a brand new niece and nephew that she was shopping for. It had been so much fun going into the department stores and picking everything out. Her sister had long gotten rid of the baby furniture and now needed all new items. Ikea had been one stop, then Pottery Barn, and finally she was at Bloomingdales. Shopping bags in hand she walked out the door into the busy afternoon. Joining the crush of people she began walking as she made her way down the street. When the man in front of her stopped she bumped into him. She wrinkled her nose at the odor, it was so putrid, rotten

The explosion that happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. People stopped, they all turned there was smoke and people fell to the ground.

~~  
Hank was sitting in the NICU, patiently waiting as the nurse brought out one of the babies. He had taken the afternoon off to spend some time at the hospital and give Laura a much needed break. As soon as he had walked in a nurse had led him to a rocking chair and began getting him ready for a baby feeding. Soon a baby was brought to him wrapped tightly in a blanket and carefully handed over. My God he thought she was so tiny, as he recognized the red wisps of hair. He couldn’t contain the smile as the nurse handed him the bottle of formula and instructed him on how to feed her. She quickly latched onto the nipple and began sucking away.

He had just finished feeding Charlotte and was about to feed Henry when his phone vibrated. Excusing himself from the nursery he walked out into the hallway. “Voight.”

“Sarge, there’s been an explosion downtown,” Jay told him.

“I’m at Med now, I’ll head down to the ER.”

Turning back around he saw the nurse smile as she seemed to realize he would not have time to feed the other baby. Walking back in he apologized and looked down at his little boy. Dark hair like Laura’s graced the child’s head. 

~~  
The Wolf and Coyote appeared from opposite sides, they walked towards the blast, and eyed each other warily. They weren’t supposed to know each other yet now they were in the same place. Spotting the Jackal on the ground, they went to it and helped it up. Ambulances were coming, the Wolf took the weapon and slipped it into its waist band. The Coyote ever the scavenger picked up the small pieces that were not supposed to be there yet left the unexpected bomb fragments alone. They both lifted the Jackal up and the Wolf nodded to the Coyote who went to other victims to assist. It was better to look helpful then oddly only helping one. As the wolf led the Jackal to an ambulance, it knew that Anubis would have to explain itself.


	7. Chapter 7

The Chicago detectives spoke with their New York counterparts.

“We are just happy to be able to talk to the detectives involved in the original cases,” Burgess answered. 

“How are things back in Chicago?” Olivia asked  
“This case gets stranger and stranger,” Adam answered. “We have a US Marshal assisting, but it feels like the Feds don’t want us to ask too many questions.”

“Well I hope you don’t mind if I go with you guys to talk with the detectives along with our ADA Carisi?”

“Not at all, it’s your City,” Adam answered with a nod.

~~  
Arriving at John Munch’s apartment they were greeted by the older man who instantly insisted on bringing them coffee. “When Liv called and asked about my time in Baltimore I thought she had to be dreaming. Those were some good years,” as he hands out the coffee cups. “So what are you looking for?”

Kim smiled and took a sip of coffee before opening her notebook. “We understand you had a case about 30 years ago with your partner Giardello?”

“G, yeah we were partners before he became my captain,” as he smiled.

“The case was a homicide where there was no shell casing and only evidence was the bullet found in the body of an Arthur Bishop.”

Munch sat his cup down and frowned. “That case always bothered the both of us. It was so clean, as if all evidence was cleaned up.”

“Do you have the case file?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, I’ll have to go to my storage room, I can pull it and bring it in tomorrow. Wow, that case was so strange. No witnesses, nothing. There had been similar cases at the time - always cleaned up. There was always rumors that it was a hired hit but Bishop, was the guy you hired,” shaking his head, “Wow, you think the same killer is killing people in Chicago?”

“We don’t know, it’s just the same gun,” Kim answered.

~~  
The team of four arrived at a Brownstone that afternoon, they had grabbed a bite to eat before heading over to talk with Mike Logan.

“Hello,” a dark haired woman smiled as she opened the door for the detectives and ADA, “You must be here for Mikey.”

Olivia smiled while trying not to roll her eyes.

Inside they were brought to a large living room and Mike came in. “Sorry, my wife is excited to hear about any of my old cases.”

Olivia perked up, “I didn’t know you got married?”

Mike moved to a chair and smiled, “Yeah we tied the not last year before I retired. We’ve been together for over 10 years, so”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks, but if I’m not correct,” as he turns to the ADA, “Dominick Carisis?” as he puts his hand out.

“Uh yeah,” the attorney responds a bit taken back.

“You married my cousin Katherine, Erin. Our Grandma was Katherine, her mother was Kathy, she was Erin.”

“Yeah, and”

“Just glad to meet you, I understand you were a cop before becoming a lawyer.”

“Yeah,”

“Small world isn’t it?”

“So I pulled the file you are asking about. Joseph Mulqueen - never found anything relating to the case. Lenny said it was strange how everything seemed cleaned.”

“Clean?” Adam asked.

“Yeah like someone had come in after the killing to make sure all we found was the bullet in the guy. The location of the shoot was pristine, more so and this was the 90s, so New York was just beginning to get safer.”

“Did you have any leads?” Kim questioned.

“Honestly, Lenny thought it was this mysterious assassin that has been around since like World War II. That there is some secret society that hires out killings. Individuals who have wronged people and deserve being killed.”

“Okay, did he say anything else?”

“No, we hit multiple dead ends. There was nothing we could find. There was a couple of other cases that happened around the same time, we thought we could connect them but all different weapons. Everything was clean. You guys are from Chicago? My other cousin got married to a Chicago cop.”

Kim looked at Adam, “Well there are several districts,” she begins.

“Laura, real pretty girl, hell all the Murphy girls were beauties. I went to her christening, I know it’s been forever but we’ve all tried to stay in touch.”

“Uh,” Adam begins.

“Laura just gave birth,” Kim blurts out.

“Really, I knew she had kids from her first husband. Mark Thornton, her old man had me run a background on that one. He was a piece of work, couldn’t understand what she saw in him, but anyway, tell her congratulations.”

“Mike, who are you talking about?” as the dark haired woman before came in.

“Laura”

“Oh, I thought she just got married again.”

“Well we should be going,” Carisi stated. “If you think of anything else”

“Yeah, um give Erin our love, maybe we can have you over for dinner. It would be nice to catch up.”


	8. Chapter 8

Burgess and Ruzek were busy looking at their phones for updates on the explosion on Michigan Avenue. So far all they knew was that it was a gas leak. Wanting to get back but having promised to speak with former Sergeant Munch they stood around the SVU squad room impatiently. 

Looking up from her phone, “We really need to get back,” she told Rollins.

“Yeah, I know, Munch should be here shortly,” she responded.

Before they could say another word, the older man walked into the office with a box. He nodded at the detectives before walking to one of the conference rooms. “Sorry it took me so long,” Munch stated as he watched the detectives follow him. “I wanted to make sure I got everything.”

Carisi looked at the box and the files the man was pulling out, “How much stuff do you have?”

“Well I pulled the case file from Baltimore, and while going over it I remembered a conspiracy theory, years ago sometime after World War II, a group of men got together and decided to fund the killing of individuals who couldn’t be taken care of in a court of law. The story was that they would have code names - Anubis was the leader - he made the decisions on who the target was, the Wolf hunted the person down, the Jackal performed the hit, and the Coyote cleaned it up. There was also talk of a couple other individuals but their code names were never spoken of. Over the years new individuals would take the positions. It became folklore in some cities, in others it just got ignored or passed over as a conspiracy.”

“So, are you saying the murders in Chicago are related to,” Burgess began.

“It is possible. It just makes sense, the accidents, murders, suicides, can’t be explained.”

Adam looked at the man, “But why these victims? Everything points to a former Marshal Employee who hasn’t been in contact with anyone in years?”

Munch looked up, “But the individuals were involved in other crimes, crimes they probably would never have been punished for.”

“And the chance of us finding them?”

“Slim to none. These people know what they are doing. It could be your neighbor or best friend. These people don’t talk and there is never any proof, the only thing ever has been that occasionally the same weapon is used.”

“So we have nothing?”

~~  
Hank wasn’t sure what else could go wrong. Now his sister in law was in the hospital from the Michigan Avenue explosion. He had personally spoken to Chief Boden who agreed it was a gas explosion, only the pipes that exploded had been checked a week before and all looked good. Running his hand over his head he looked around his office. Jay and Hailey were working on surveillance cameras. Kevin was at the crime scene, and Rojas was AWOL. He’d already asked Hailey about the woman who shrugged her shoulders. Great, he didn’t need to be dealing with personnel issues as well.

Thankfully Rebecca had volunteered to help with the four boys while Laura was at Med with the babies and her sister. Looking at his phone as it buzzed he saw Ruzek’s name. “Voight.”

“Boss, we should be on the next flight back. I don’t think you are going to be happy with what we find.”

“Okay, travel safe,” as he clicked the phone off. He looked up at a knock on the door to see his missing detective. “Where have you been?”

“I uh, I’m sorry I’m late, I called a friend of mine who is a state trooper in Montana. He knows Nancy Tucker. He confirmed her alibi.”

Hank could feel the headache coming on, “We’ve got nothing?”

“Actually Sargent,” as Tim Gutterson came into squad room, “All the individuals are related to this fraud case. I think they were trying to cover things up by blaming Tucker.” He walks closer to Hank and hands him a stack of papers. 

Taking the papers Hank walked back into his office and began reading. The headache did not get better but worse.

~~  
Jay sat at the bar of Molly’s sipping a beer, “You know we haven’t really gotten a chance to catch up,” he says to the Deputy sitting next to him.

“What’s there to say, after Rangers, I got a job with the Marshals, Ally finished up her residency and we got married have 2 kids.”

“I just feel like I missed half of that,” Jay laughs.

“You and Mouse knew I had a high school girlfriend, we just stayed together.”

“You didn’t have any issues?”

“Yeah, I mean I drank a lot before Al moved in. She’s the best thing ever. The crazy thing is that the first time I introduced her to my Chief, he asks if they had met before. Turns out that Ally was my Chief’s kid from his college girlfriend. Talk about small world.”

Spitting out his drink, “Wait what?”

Tim leans back, “Okay, so Ally and I grew up together. She spent more time at my house then not. Her mom was a nurse and worked constantly so Al stayed at our house. In high school she ended up moving in when her mom got sick - cancer. There were nights she couldn’t sleep and so she crawled in bed with me.”

“Yeah I bet that was rough,” Jay laughs.

“Nothing happened, until”

“Right,” Jay grins.

“Her mom passed away right after graduation, Al had a full ride to IU and took it. I decided to join the Rangers and before I left I asked her to marry me.”

“Yeah but she waited?”

“I told her I wouldn’t be upset if she found someone, but she didn’t. She finished her residency and we eloped.”

Shaking his head, “Well you are one of the few who found love.”

“Ally is the best thing ever, you know you and Becca should come down, Al and I will take you on a Bourbon tour.”

“Yeah, if I can get her down the aisle?”

“You think she is going to back out?”

“No, it’s just that this Murphy family is one surprise after another.”

~~  
Hank sat next to Laura holding his little girl, Laura had the boy and smiled at her husband. “If they continue to eat like they have, we can bring them home in a couple of weeks.”

Hank smiled, this was the one time he could relax. “I will be much happier once you and these two are sleeping under our roof.”

Laura reached out and squeezed his hand. “Gilda should be discharged tomorrow. Monty flew in and will pick her up.”

“Glad she didn’t get too hurt.”

“It feels like we can’t escape the drama of Chicago.”

“I’m thinking of putting your whole family in a special bubble of protection.”

Laura laughed and the baby stirred in her arms, “these are the best times, when all they do is eat and sleep.”


	9. Chapter 9

Hank walked into the 21st ready for a new day. Laura had decided that the babies needed to come home and she would be talking with the hospital today. He just hoped he didn’t get a call that Med was putting up any resistance. Walking in he was surprised to see Greg Gerwitz behind the counter talking with Platt. Deciding to delay his walk up the steps he walked to the counter and say hello.

“Why do we have to learn something new?” Platt asked him.

“Sargent everyone is getting Surface Pro’s. You’ll be able to do so much more” Greg was telling her.

Hank decided to interrupt and called out, “Morning Trudy, Greg?”

The two turn to look at Voight and Greg smiles, “Morning Sargent, I’ll be upstairs to help your team in a bit.”

“What’s going on?” Hank asked.

“Apparently the Ivory Tower decided that 21 would be the pilot program for new computers,” Trudy told him.

“And Greg?”

“Oh, um yeah, after Marie was killed it reminded me of Nadia and well I put in for the academy. With my military service and working here, I was pulled off joining patrol and put into the IT department. Anyway I’m here at 21 helping install the new computers that were brought in over the weekend.”

Hank nods his head and begins to walk away when Trudy calls to him. “Hank you aren’t going to be happy.”

Smiling he nods and goes up the stairs. When he walks into the bullpen he sees that all the desk computers are gone replaced with much smaller tablet/laptops. The board has been cleared off of all pictures and reports. Looking around he sees his team looking just as confused. 

“Boss, everything is gone,” Ruzik mentions. “And the Commander is in your office with Agent Graff.”

Looking at his closed door Hank lets out a sigh. “Commander, Will” as he enters the office and walks to his desk.

“Sargent,” Graff begins, “I’ve been given orders to collect the entire case file on your current case.”

Hank looks at his commander for an answer. 

“Hank this is over our heads.”

“So we are going to not find out why these people were murdered?”

Graff steps closer to Hank, “Consider this a sanctioned case. Not even the FBI has been given any details.”

“Is this the reason for the new computers?”

The Commander looks up at Hank and turns to leave. “Enjoy some time off, spend it with your wife and children. I’m sure we will have a new case before you know it.”


End file.
